SJHL Game 10: Yorkton Terriers at Battlefords North Stars

First things first. I didn’t notice it last week but Brody Luhning was named the SJHL’s D man of the week two weeks ago. Well deserved and it won’t be the last such award for the league’s best defenseman.

This week Josh Betinol was named the SJHL’s Rookie of the Week. Betinol had 4 points in 2 games including 3 points in that 1 goal loss to Humboldt. To be honest, after his performance in La Ronge and Flin Flon he maybe should have won the award the week before as well.

And more great news for Josh has been announced today as Betinol has been named to the Team West Camp in Calgary at the end of the month. Betinol will compete with 60 other players for a spot on the Team West roster for the World Junior A Challenge. It may cause Betinol to miss some games for the Stars but it’s still great news for the player and the team.

Tonight’s game at the Civic Center should be a beauty. The Terriers are tied for top spot in the league and are ranked in the top 20 in Canada. And they will be coming in mad after losing last night in Kindersley. Yorkton is a team that always gets the most out of their players. I really like their coaching staff led by Trent Cassan. They do a great job and are always a pleasure to talk to and interview. All in all a great organization and I look forward to these matchups.

By the way it is also election day here in Saskatchewan and our news department will be covering the local City Council elections during the game. We will still be on the air and you hopefully won’t notice a difference in the broadcast other than election updates a couple times a period and during the intermission.

Recent Game:

Yorkton Terriers:

The Terriers lost last night in Kindersley 4-3. Former Terrier Warren Shymko was the difference making 56 saves for the win last night.

Battlefords North Stars:

The North Stars beat Melfort 5-4 in their last game back on Friday night at the Civic Center.

Players to Watch:

Yorkton Terriers:

The Norrish twins. Always fun to watch and capable of the spectacular from the back end. Plus as a Cauck fan I like watching twins play hockey.

Nathan Murray. Has 13 points in 12 games so far this season including 4 goals. It’s a big step forward for Murray who is thriving this season in an offensive role. He had just 19 points in 42 games last season.

Battlefords North Stars:

Keenan Martens. Not sure if he will be in the lineup tonight. If he is then obviously I can’t wait to see the game tonight. It’s always fun watching a new player make their debut with a new team.

Braeden Johson. Has been very good so far this season. Scored last time out and I have a feeling Johnny is poised for a big game here soon. Could be tonight.

Head to Head:

This is the first matchup this season between these two teams. Last season the teams split the season series each winning twice. The Stars also picked up a point in a shootout loss at home on November 8th. The Stars won 5-2 and 3-0 and the two games they lost were the aforementioned shootout 5-4 and on Feb 7th there was a 4-2 loss.